Together (2025) Film Review: Co-dependency is taken to the extreme in sticky body horror

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Years into their relationship, Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) find themselves at a crossroads when the latter is offered a new teaching job and the couple moves from the city to an idyllic country home nestled in the woods.

With tensions already flaring between them, an encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.

Together (2025) marks the feature debut for director and writer Michael Shanks, who has had previous experience working on short films and television.

This gnarly body horror venture stars real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie in the lead roles, which adds an interesting meta layer to its exploration of commitment in romantic relationships and the dangers of codependency.

Despite lacking some narrative/character depth and graphic extremes that other entries in the sub-genre have previously demonstrated, the film offers horror fans a thoroughly entertaining ride to be enjoyed with your other half, or to have a good time with friends.

A rainy hike in the woods takes a scary turn, as a bickering couple falls into an underground cave, where a mysterious force is lurking...

The movie begins with an inspired opening prologue presenting a search party looking for a missing woman in a dense forest. Two of the search dogs come across a cave, where they both drink from a pool of water, which shortly results in horrific outcomes. This chilling sequence felt like a terrific homage to John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), and there are plenty more moments with recognisable horror iconography featured throughout the film, such as infected bodies bending and contorting in gross, unnatural ways.

From the very beginning, Shanks orchestrates a tangible build-up of suspense and foreboding, with Franco's aspiring musician, Tim, in particular, bearing the full brunt of the horror treatment. Well-crafted nightmare sequences featuring his creepy, smiling mother, and vividly gruesome, unsettling descriptions revolving around the overwhelming smell of decomposing corpses, driven from the harrowing discovery of his long-dead father, or a singed rat found in a ceiling light, add another darkly disturbing layer to the film.

Although the movie's pacing is a tad uneven, with it taking longer than expected for the couple to come in contact with the seemingly supernatural force, and a slightly rushed ending later on down the line, the film thrives on its originality and unique concept. There is an infectious element of dark humour that shamelessly leans into the genuine absurdity of the situation, as Tim and Millie suddenly experience a magnetic attraction to each other's bodies, leading to delightfully grotesque body horror imagery.

A night spent in the cave results in unexplainable occurrences of the sticky variety, as the couple is unable to remain separated for long lengths of time

The practical make-up and special effects are top-notch here, with some truly skin-crawling sequences showcasing flesh becoming one. A nice tie-in to the Spice Girls hit '2 Become 1' further adds to the darkly comedic side of the narrative. From legs becoming stuck to each other, to hands seeming to unnaturally glide beneath the skin, and a shocking reveal of a deformed monstrosity lurking in the dark depths of the cave, this provides a real treat for horror fanatics.

The film's immaculate sound design equally matches its impressive visuals, with an effectively atmospheric, completely immersive array of off-putting noises, such as bones breaking and flesh fusing together.

Although the repeated use of the nickname 'babe' is thrown around a little too much in the script, the inclusion of a real-life couple certainly works in the film's favour. The writing for the leads is admittedly quite flimsy and chaotic, but the couple's shared history maintains a strong sense of believability to their onscreen relationship.

Dave Franco, in particular, was the clear standout here, without detracting from Brie's contributions; he fully commits to his part with real sweat, blood, and tears as he suffers the worst of the curse early on. This is definitely up there as one of his best performances.

Real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie lead the film's thought-provoking commentary on relationships, marriage, and compatibility

Props must also go to the couple's co-star, Damon Herriman, who plays their neighbour and Millie's work colleague. A little too friendly with his immediate interest in Millie, Herriman provides a suitably creepy, unnerving performance that hides a dark, twisted secret behind the cheery demeanor.

All in all, Together offers horror fans a satirical take on relationship drama and is laden with wickedly imaginative body horror and a darkly humorous edge. Although the film may arguably not tap into its full potential regarding the gore factor and extreme stretches of creativity, like films such as The Substance (2024) boldly demonstrated, there is still enough to enjoy here.

Michael Shanks proves his clear passion and flair for the horror genre, and it will be exciting to see where his twisted, cinematic vision will take us next!

Check out the trailer for Together (2025) below, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!